The Pick of the Day is a 1961 Ford Galaxie Sunliner convertible being advertised for sale on ClassicCars.com by its original owners.
“The vehicle is original and has always been garaged inside our Northern California home to keep it rust-free,” the sellers report. “It has an automatic transmission on the column with overdrive and was purchased new in 1961.”
The sellers say the convertible has been driven 155,800 miles since new, and that the 352cid V8 engine was rebuilt at 124,186 miles.
The 352cid V8 is the Interceptor version and was rated at 220 horsepower when new.
“We have exercised this vehicle regularly and have only driven it 7,000 miles in the last 33 years,” the sellers add.
“The vehicle has been licensed and insured every year for 59 years, now we are looking for a buyer to provide a new home to celebrate the vehicle’s 60th birthday.”
The sellers offer a list of what they’ve done beyond “ordinary maintenance,” including addition of cruise control in the mid-1970s; overhauling the transmission along with the engine back in 1983; a new fuel pump and generator, and overhauled power steering a year later; new water pump in 1985; new brakes and paint in 1986; new convertible top and rear window in 1986; and added trailer hitch in 1991.
The repaint was done in the factory Starlight Blue color.
Tonneau cover provides access for driving 
The sellers point out that Ford introduced its first automatic transmission, the Borg-Warner sourced Ford-O-Matic, in 1951, and that it “would become the platform from which many later model automatic transmissions would evolve.
“Developed as a three-speed automatic, the Ford-O-Matic used a cast-iron case and would normally be started in second gear. For this reason, you often see the Ford-O-Matic referred to as a two-speed, although the only actual two-speed units were produced from 1959-’64, and they had aluminum cases.
“A sprag was added to the planetary assembly in 1958 so that you could select whether to start out in first gear or second, and the Ford-O-Matic name was changed to Cruise-O-Matic. They were later upgraded to the FX and MX series Cruise-O-Matics, then the single FMX transmission, and eventually, they evolved into the overdrive AOD transmissions used in the 1980s and 1990s Ford cars and trucks.”
This ’61 Galaxie Sunliner is located in Sacramento, California, and is offered for $34,500. To view this listing on ClassicCars.com, see Pick of the Day.
